In the face of the increase in use of the Internet to shop rather than using traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, and the ensuing ease of comparison shopping based on price that the Internet has made available to consumers, more and more brick-and-mortar retailers have begun offering price guarantee to consumers who purchase from them. Typically this price guarantee is made in the form of a guarantee that if the user finds a competitor selling the same item for less money during a specified time window (generally, 30, 60, or 90 days), that the retailer will refund the difference between the actual amount the consumer paid originally and the price he or she could obtain from a competitor. Not only does this give the consumer confidence in making the initial purchase from the brick-and-mortar retailer, but it also helps reduce returns, which can be costly for brick-and-mortar retailers.
In addition to protecting the consumer in cases where a competitor offers a product for less money within the specified time period, the price guarantee generally also extends to the retailers own prices, in that should the retailer drop the price or offer a sale on the product within the specified time period, the consumer is also able to obtain a refund.
This type of price guarantee, however, is rarely taken advantage of by the consumer. Most consumers do not have the time or simply forget to track a retailer's price of a product, and even less time to bring the receipt back to the retailer and obtain a refund within the specified time period. As such, a large number of potential refunds go unredeemed.
There is a need for better techniques for keeping track of all the product purchase and track how these product price matched with other web sites and retailers